[LINK] Censorship Issues..

On Thu, 13 Feb 2003 11:04:57 +1100, I wrote:
> Copyright
> -------------
> From a consumer's point of view copyrighted material is usually of a
>higher technical quality than material where copyright cannot be
>enforced due to illegality.
There's some interesting comments related to this issue on the
"Westernisation" of Hong Kong movies at:-
http://alliance.hellninjacommando.net/faq.htm
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"A: Bootleg/pirated copies of movies are like drugs...no matter how
much effort is made to crack down on them, people will always somehow
manage to produce and (perhaps unknowingly) obtain them. Where there’s
a will, there’s a way. While illegally duplicating and profiting from
someone else’s work is an unscrupulous practice that we do not
condone, there are times when a bootleg is the only way to get the
complete, untainted film (typically with lower audio and video quality
than an official release)."
======================================================
The issue (in part)
"Also, the movies often have footage removed by xxxxxx because they
consider it objectionable (violence, drug use, etc.), because it
contains Chinese/Asian cultural and/or political references which
North American viewers may not fully understand,"
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My view of the world is a global one. Asian culture is different to
Western/European culture in many respects and it's a pity to dilute it
(censor it) to suit local tastes.
BTW: I thank a correspondent for reference to a site which itemises
movies complete with the ratings attributed to the movie by overseas
countries. For instance the listing for "Baise-Moi" at:-
http://us.imdb.com/Title?0249380
shows the International ratings (acceptance) as:-
Certification:
Australia:(Banned) (re-rating: 2002)
Australia:R (original rating)
Belgium:KNT
Canada:R
Finland:K-18
France:-16 (original rating)
France:-18 (re-release)
France:X (re-rating: 2000) (court decision)
Germany:18
Hong Kong:III
Luxembourg:17
Netherlands:16
New Zealand:R18 (re-release)
Peru:18
Spain:18
Sweden:15
UK:18
USA:Unrated
As noted to the correspondent many movies in Sydney's Chinatown
appear to be rated II or III and I have been unable to determine what
these classifications mean let alone the classification systems for
countries such as Spain and Peru which seemingly have no problems with
"Baise Moi". (Catholic religious nations).. I also notice that
computer games in Sydney's Chinatown are rated by the ethnic rating
system of Hong Kong - not the local Australian ratings system.
A "complete" list of banned Australian (mainstream) films can be
located at:
Titles with certificate: Australia:(Banned)
http://us.imdb.com/List?certificates=Australia:(Banned)&&heading=14;Australia:(Banned)
(best to cut and paste into browser if interested). Salo is
available for $135 US (used). Some other titles are unavailable.
Titles with certificate: Hong Kong:III
http://us.imdb.com/List?certificates=Hong%20Kong:III&&heading=14;Hong%20Kong:III
An interesting site to review "mainstream" movies and compare the
ratings attributed to them by various nations.
----------------
Bob Bain
Sydney Australia
bobb@soxkat.com
www.bobboz.da.ru
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